


Pickpocket

by SelSpeaks



Category: Lupin III
Genre: F/M, for the anon that wanted an xreader of lupin flirting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:21:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23767615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SelSpeaks/pseuds/SelSpeaks
Summary: Your wallet is stolen by a stranger who calls himself Arsene Lupin the Third.
Relationships: Arsène Lupin III/Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 57





	Pickpocket

**Author's Note:**

> For the anon that wanted a flirty Lupin x Reader. This isn't as flirty as I'd hoped but I tried lol.  
> (i didnt proof read this, i just wrote it real quick for you!)

The night air was crisp. Autumn was never your favorite time of year in this city. It was too cold here- not like your hometown. Every year you cursed the decision to move, but you’ve never meant it sincerely. This city had, over the last three years, become a second home to you. 

You walked down the busy sidewalk, shoulders hunched and gloved hand holding up your scarf. A harsh breeze flew by, and you grabbed at your hat to keep it on. Around you, people bustled this way and that, each with their own destinations and plans for the evening. You saw a fair amount of young men and women- not unusual for a Friday night- along with a speckle of suit-clad men heading out on the town after a week of work. The street was lit up with store signs, headlights, and street lamps. You looked up for a moment at the sky and saw the same dull grey as every night. Light pollution was something you never really got used to after growing up with a sky full of twinkling stars.

As you walked, gazing up and dreaming of better sights, you suddenly felt a harsh bump against your person. This was different than the usual shoulder taps that came with crowds. Immediately, you checked your pockets with a quick tap. Keys, phone, wallet...wallet? It was gone. Your routine of checking had become a passive habit since coming here, but you never actually expected someone to steal from you. You whisked around and caught a glimpse of a slender man with a bright red jacket moving against the crowd.

“Hey! Hey, you! Red! Stop!” You turned and started trotting after the man, dodging some oncoming people and ramming into others, never letting the stranger out of your sights. 

He seemed to move more quickly, then, and almost danced around people as he made his way up the street. You blinked, and he was gone. No, not gone. He had taken a sharp right down an alleyway. You paused for a moment.  _ It’s okay,  _ you thought.  _ I have pepper spray on me. It’s still in view of the street, too. I’ll be fine. _ You pulled your scarf up higher on your face and headed into the alley. 

It became clear rather quickly that this was not an average alley for loading food trucks or taking out the trash. Instead, a handful of small signs were propped up here and there, signifying businesses. One sign was a dark purple and said “Cookies ‘Til Witching Hours!” while another was a pastel green saying, “Herbs and Honey.” Each sign looked cheap and well worn. As you walked, one in particular caught your eye. It wasn’t propped up against a wall, but instead taped onto a dark, rusted door with masking tape. It was a simple sheet black paper, and scrawled on it with white sharpie read “Phantom.” You grabbed the loose doorknob and opened the door. A steep set of stairs led down into somewhere lit faintly orange. 

You headed down the stairs. At the bottom was quite a sight- a small, quiet bar. It was actually quite nice, with sleek wooden tables, a clean and shining bar counter, and dozens of glittering glass bottles decorating the back wall. The sound of old jazz sprinkled the room from a speaker somewhere above. There were only four patrons in the bar, all men. Sitting directly in front of the bartender was the stranger in red. You took a deep breath and approached him

“H-hey! Um…”

He didn’t look at you.

“HEY,” you said louder. “Excuse me? ...Sir?”

He looked then. Facing you was a handsome, albeit monkey-ish, man with long sideburns and wide eyes. He looked at you for a second before breaking into a huge, goofy grin.

“Ohhh, you came! You actually came!” He threw his arms up as if to hug you, but didn’t move forward. You stared blankly at him before remembering why you came to this place.

“You took my wallet! Give it back!” 

“Oh, did I now? Hmm...wallet, wallet…” The man pretended to search his person, exaggerating each movement of his arms as he pat all around his pockets. “I’m afraid I’ve only got the one. You sure you didn’t just lose it? Maybe put it in the wrong spot…?” 

He was sitting there, now, with one leg propped up on the opposite knee, elbow resting easily and head relaxed against his palm.  _ He’s teasing me _ , you realized. Still, though, you felt your empty pocket again to check. This time, though, it wasn’t empty.

“Huh? How the hell…” You pulled your wallet out and inspected it. Every card, coupon, and paper bill was still in it. Had you imagined the entire thing?

“See, see? Nothing stolen! Now why don’t we celebrate? Bartender, oi! A drink for her, on me!”

And suddenly you were pulled. You found yourself sitting in a strangers lap, then, unaware of how you got there in the first place. Weren’t you  _ just _ standing? Wasn’t your wallet  _ just _ empty? What the hell was going on? A drink was placed in front of you, something bright green in a Nick and Nora’s. The man held it up for you, waiting for you to grab it. Hesitantly, you took it in your hand.

“A toast to not having our wallets stolen! Cheers!” He clinked his glass- _W_ _ hite  _ _Russian_ , you saw- against yours and took a gulp. “My name is Arsene Lupin the Third. And you are?”

“I...uh…” 

This was too strange. You still sat there, holding the sweet smelling drink, looking up at a stranger. No, at Arsene Lupin. The third. He looked down at you with a wide smile and chuckled.

“Aw, no name? How about I give you one then? Hmmmm,” He pretended to stroke a long beard as he thought. “Angela? Because you look like an angel~! Oh, oh! Melody! Because my heart sings for you! Bella! Isabella! For your beauty. Or maybe…?”

He listed off name after name, fired out compliment after compliment. You weren’t usually one for flattery, but something about how he said each name as if it were truly beautiful and truly meant for you… it had you blushing a bit. You took a small sip from your glass. It tasted like melon. Lupin put his glass down loudly and said something quickly to the bartender. Within a moment, a fresh glass was placed in front of him.  _ Old fashioned. _

“So, Arsene-” 

“You can just call me Lupin, dear.” He said with a wink. He took a sip from his glass and made a face. He put the glass back down and stared at the bartender. His glass was filled a bit higher with whiskey and he took another, more approving sip.

“Um,  _ Lupin _ , then. I’m sorry for following you...and yelling at you…”

“An apology from such a pretty lady? What has the world come to! If anything, I should apologize to you, since you’ve seemed to have a rough night. What can I do to bring a smile to your face?”

You could feel the red sweep across your face this time. You took another sip of your drink. This time, the scent of melon mixed with something else.  _ Cologne...good cologne.  _ You tried to take another, subtle sniff. Lupin raised an eyebrow at you, and you looked away from his gaze. 

“This is fine. I should really be going soon, though. I have to go...meet my friend.” 

It was a lie. It was a bad lie, at that. The entire situation was too weird for you to wrap your head around for the moment. One minute you're angrily chasing a man who stole your wallet, the next moment you're sitting in his lap blushing like a teenager? The emotional whiplash would ache for days. 

Lupin placed his drink down and shifted to look at you more closely. His face was a bit serious now, and his eyes stared deep into you, looking for something you couldn’t imagine. You looked back at him, frozen, holding your breath. You couldn’t tear your eyes away from him. His face moved closer to you, slowly, and the scent of whiskey spun around your head, mingling with the cologne. It made you a little dizzy. Still he moved closer. Closer. You could hear the steady drum of your heart behind your ears.  _ Closer _ . He stopped an inch from your face. A shiver ran down your spine. 

And then he was gone, sitting back up straight, sporting a huge grin and laughing. In his hand was a bright orange leaf.

“Tonight’s pretty windy, huh? Why don’t we stay in here for a while where it’s warm?” He laughed again.

You let out a long exhale. Your grip on the drink in your hand had tightened without you realizing, and you relaxed. You could still hear the pounding of your heart as you tried to shake away the tension in your body. The loud scrape of a chair against the floor brought your head up. 

“Hey, Lupin! Ya no good...dirty thief! Ya...Ya rascal! Ya...baboon! Buffoon!”

A man was standing, swaying, and loudly yelling across the small room. He wore a trench coat a size or two too large, and in one hand he held a tan hat in a vice grip. His other hand was firmly placed on the back of his chair, keeping him balanced. 

“Aaaah, Pops! It’s been far too long, my dear Zenigata~” Lupin sang at the drunk man. “I’m a little busy tonight, so let’s play some other time, okay?”

“Lupiiiin you-! You’re a-! I’m gonna arrest you! Just you wait there, I’m gonna-” The man took a few fumbling steps forward towards you and Lupin, waving his hat around wildly. Lupin leaned his head down a bit towards you.

“I think,” he whispered, “that might actually be our cue to leave.”

And in a flash you were both standing. Lupin gently took the drink from your hand and placed it on the counter. Then, he took a long, dramating step back and held his hand out to you with a bow. 

“Shall we, dear?”

“Where are we going?”

“Away from here!”

“I think...I’ll stay here, actually…” You didn’t know if leaving with this man was such a great idea now that someone was shouting about arresting him. Did that guy say he was a thief….? That was your assumption earlier, too, wasn’t it?

“Oh, don’t you worry a thing about ol’ Pops there. He’s just had a bit too much to drink again.”

“He said you’re a criminal though…”

Lupin raised his head up from his bow and smirked.

“Well, that’s because I am.”

You stared at him wide-eyed. Standing before you was a man- a handsome man- wearing a bright red suit jacket and dipped into a low bow. Standing before you was a man called a criminal, and who admitted to it with a smile. Standing before you was a man you  _ accepted a drink from. _ You took a step backwards towards the exit, eyes slowly moving towards the drunk person yelling incoherently on the other side of the room. The two other patrons ignored the scene completely, and the bartender was nowhere to be seen. Your mother had warned you, when you told her about moving to the city, about womanizers and thieves and drunks. Now here you were, proving her right. You decided that chasing a pickpocket was probably a bad idea, and that every single step thereafter was a worse idea. The only good idea you had now was  _ run.  _ You took another step back, and then another. 

“Ah ah. And here I thought we were getting along so well, my angel, my bella~!” Lupin straightened up and took a few steps toward you as you backed up. “You know, I’m not as bad as Pops makes me out to be. I’m just a lowly thief, doomed to steal candy bars and the wallets of beautiful women.”

_ So he did take my wallet before! _ How, then, was it in your pocket now? You reached in to hold your wallet tight to you. If it was your money or your life, the choice was clear. Your hand slipped into your pocket only to find it empty once again. Lupin reached into his back pocket and pulled your wallet out, dangling it between two fingers.

“I just couldn’t pass up an opportunity to talk to you. I don’t just steal money, ya know.”

“What else do you steal, then?” The words came out before you thought about it.

“I steal hearts.”

He rushed towards you and scooped you up bridal style. He planted an obnoxious kiss on your temple and started running- more like skipping- out of the bar. Outside, the cold smacked your skin and you reached up for your hat to keep in its place. You looked up at Lupin’s face. He was looking straight ahead, wind blowing his short hair back, and a toothy grin was plastered across his face. His eyes sparkled with something pure and young. You knew this was the time to be terrified, but the strangest feeling of trust was settled in you. By all accounts you should have screamed, struggled, kicked and bit and punched. Yet part of you firmly believed that this Arsene Lupin would not hurt you, and that this was more of a game than an actual kidnapping. That you could stop it all with a sincere ‘no.’ So you let yourself be whisked away through the back alleys of the cold night, grey sky looming flat above you, the sound of wind and laughter following behind you both. 

**Author's Note:**

> [If you're ever in a situation where someone steals from you, don't chase after them into a dark alley. Just call the cops. This is fantasy so...real world logic need not apply. But for real, stay safe y'all.]


End file.
